Biomedical Research Internship for Minority Students

The BRIMS program offers an outstanding science training opportunity for Cincinnati area graduating high school seniors and college freshmen. The program is designed to involve minority students traditionally underrepresented in biomedical careers in cutting‐edge scientific research conducted in an academic medical center to stimulate their interest in pursuing biomedical research careers.

This nine‐week program offers a chance to learn, explore, and gain hands‐on experience in a Children’s Hospital Medical Center research laboratory environment for 15 to 16 minority students each summer. Click here for a letter announcing the program that is sent out to all Cincinnati Area High Schools. Each BRIMS intern will be paired with a research mentor to pursue a 9-week full time basic science, or clinical biomedical research project during the summer. All interns will give a 5-minute PowerPoint presentation of their research project to the group and are encouraged to present a poster at the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Capstone poster competition at the end of the program.

In addition to participating in SURF activities, BRIMS interns participate in weekly networking luncheons and shadowing opportunities with minority faculty in several areas of the hospital from surgery to administration. Participants may earn up to $2,988 ($8.30/hr) based on the number of hours they work in the laboratory. The BRIMS program is sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs and Career Development at Cincinnati Children's and a grant from the 5/3 Bank Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund.

Applicants must be from a racial or ethnic group shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research including Black or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (Guam, Samoa). This program is open to high achieving graduating high school seniors and college freshmen from the Cincinnati tri-state area only. College students from other states who have outside funding (ie MARC awards) are also eligible to participate in the program. Please contact Dr. Cindy Bachurski directly about participating with outside funding.

The BRIMS program is highly competitive. Students must be an identified minority underrepresented in biomedical science careers: African American, Hispanic, Pacific Islander or American Indian. Only US citizens, or green card holders are eligible to apply for the program.

The BRIMS program targets high achieving students as they graduate from high school or finish the first year of college and have taken multiple science courses (rising Freshmen or Sophomores). We consider high school class rank, GPA, ACT or SAT scores (if available), number of science classes taken, leadership in extracurricular activities and recommendations to narrow the applications to 18-20 finalists. From those, the top 15 to 16 will be matched with mentors based on their personal essays and interviews, depending on funding. All applicants must submit a one-page personal essay describing their career goals and what kind of research they are interested in doing at Cincinnati Children's.

1. Complete the online application form including uploading your resume with a list of extracurricular activities and leadership positions held, your personal essay about your career goals, and your High School transcript including grades through the fall semester 2017 and ACT or SAT scores. Note, if you are currently a college freshman, include a transcript of your fall college grades.

2. Have two references send letters of recommendation mailed in sealed envelopes to Lisa Higgins at the address below or email them directly to lisa.higgins@cchmc.org. At least one letter of recommendation should be from a science teacher.

Questions about the program call Cindy Bachurski at 513-636-8918
Questions about the application process call Lisa Higgins at 513-803-0781 or email: lisa.higgins@cchmc.org

Triston Burnham presenting his poster at the Capstone Competition. Triston graduated from Withrow University HS and is now attending UC. Triston worked with Dr. Lutchman-Jones on a clinical research project in the Division of Hematology. He won an American Society of Hematology abstract achievement award for his poster.

Sofia Nieto worked with Dr. Kiefer in the Division of Sports Medicine on a project to test the use of virtual reality in diagnosis of concussion. This photo shows Dr Bachurski presenting Sofia with the top poster prize for the BRIMS program at the Capstone ceremony. Sofia graduated from Summit Country Day HS and is now attending Duke University.

Denisse Morales worked in Dr. Danzer’s lab in the Division of Anesthesia. She graduated from Anderson HS and is now attending the University of Chicago.

Kenneth Lyle worked in the Division of General Pediatrics with Drs. Real and Klein on a Health Disparities project. He graduated from Schroder HS and is now attending UC.

Cimone Rodgers discussing her poster. Cimone was the first student selected from the YMCA Black and Latino Achiever’s Program. She graduated from Aiken New Tech HS and is now attending Northern Kentucky University.

Loren Ewing discussing her poster. Loren is a PreMed student at the University of Kentucky. She studied the effects of anesthesia on brain development in Dr Loepke’s lab.

Lucia Grandison showed the UC LSAMP students mouse brain extracts during their tour. Lucia graduated from Summit Country Day School and is now attending Washington University, St Louis.

Dana Thomas working in the lab. Dana graduated from Summit Country Day HS in 2011 and did glioblastoma research with Dr. Lionel Chow. She is currently studying at Oberlin College.

Mosep Okonny received an honorable mention award for her poster presentation at the Capstone event. She graduated from Mt Healthy High School and worked in Dr Rulang Jiang’s lab studying craniofacial abnormalities in mouse models in 2012. She also shadowed dental residents. Mosep graduated from the University of Cincinnati and is currently attending graduate school.

Adam Miller at work in Lee Grimes' lab. Adam worked in the Division of Experimental Hematology studying cellular pathways associated with leukemia prevention in 2011. Adam graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 2016 and is now attending UC Medical School.

Karmela Dalisay presenting her poster. Karmela worked with Dr. Chiou-Fen Chuang studying the role of potassium channels in neuron cell fate in the round worm C elegans in 2011. Karmela graduated from Notre Dame University and is now a medical student at Wright State University School of Medicine.

Arnie Strauss presenting Alexandra Burnett's certificate in 2010. Alex worked with Dr Lionel Chow in the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute studying a mouse model of brain cancer. Alex is now a medical student at Meharry Medical College.

Dr Jorge Munera provided a group activity in the Stem Cell Lab after his lunch presentation.

Arnie Strauss presenting Olivia Jordan's certificate in 2010. Olivia worked with Monica Mitchell PhD, in the Division of Clinical Psychology doing health disparities and community based research. Olivia graduated from Washington University in St Louis in 2014 and is now a clinical researcher applying to medical school.

Catherine Rojas at her poster. Katie won a third place award in the SURF Capstone poster competition for her work on a mouse model of glioma tumors in 2014. Katie graduated from William Mason HS and is currently attending the University of Michigan.

Emily Gonzales presenting her poster. She graduated from Larry A Ryle High School in 2013 and is attending the University of Notre Dame. Emily worked with Dr. Xiang in the Division of Neurology to visualize the brain’s response to noise in children during migraine headaches using MEG, a noninvasive neuroimaging technique. Emily received an honorable mention for her poster.

Selina Garcia is a MARC student from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She studied the effects of pediatric anesthesia on the brain in Dr. Andreas Loepke’s lab in the division of Anesthesia. Selina is a Biology major interested in obtaining a PhD.

Nicole Rojas presenting her poster. She worked with Dr Ron Waclaw in the Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology in the summer of 2012.

Nicole receiving an honorable mention award for her poster presentation at the Capstone event. She graduated from William Mason HS and is now an engineering student at the University of Michigan.